Sean Payton may have found who he wants to be the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos but will Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy still be on the board when the Orange and Blue select?
Oddsmakers say the Broncos aren’t going to get McCarthy with their No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Instead, sharps have now made the Minnesota Vikings the favorite to land the Wolverine after it was made public that he would have a private workout for the Twin Cities team next week. The Vikings are slated to pick No. 11, in part because the Broncos beat them 21-20 in Week 11 this past fall. In fact, Denver now has worse odds to end up with McCarthy than two teams who select in front of the Broncos, and the Patriots are also a candidate and they too pick before Denver.
McCarthy at Michigan
McCarthy seems to fit the profile second-year Broncos coach Sean Payton is looking for. The 6-foot-3 Chicagoland native is solid pocket passer and won a ton of games including the national title while in Ann Arbor.
McCarthy was simply pedestrian in the national title game, completing 10-18 passes for 140 yards and zero touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception, but the ground game carried the Wolverines with four total touchdowns.
On the season, McCarthy threw for nearly 3,000 yards to go along with 22 TDs and just four picks. Michigan finished a perfect 15-0
McCarthy to the Minnesota Vikings?
The Vikings are all of a sudden in need of a quarterback after six-year Kirk Cousins starter chose to sign a big deal in Atlanta last week. The Broncos were also interested in Cousins. This put the Broncos and Vikings into a bidding war for Sam Darnold. The former top pick of the Jets inked with the NFC North team. Meanwhile, Josh Dobbs who started that key game in Week 11 against Denver, signed with the 49ers on Monday, leaving the Vikings again short on quarterback options. And Darnold himself has bounced between a starter and backup and could just be a placeholder for McCarthy.
Quarterback purgatory in Denver?
The Broncos orchestrated a giant trade and extension to get and keep Russell Wilson in Colorado. He’s now a Steeler before that contract even kicked in as his two years with the Broncos went awry. The Broncos are limited on picks and salary and are attempting to find somebody to pair with Jarrett Stidham in the quarterback room. The easy solution would be a rookie but because of Wilson’s five-game win streak midseason last year including the game against Minny, Denver is outside of premium draft position. The Broncos are likely to see the top names, and possibly their guy in McCarthy off the board before being able to pick.
